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| Submit Comments | Comments (33) | « Previous Story | Next Story »

Demi Leigh Mahon

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12 missed chances to save Demi

Neal Keeling

June 27, 2009

MURDERED toddler Demi Leigh Mahon was let down 12 times by social workers, it can be revealed today.

Demi, two, was the victim of a sadistic attack by disturbed teenager Karl McCluney, who had been left alone to look after her.

But social workers had already been warned on a dozen occasions about Demi's chaotic domestic life - raised by her mother in a drugs den in Eccles.

Police issued five official warnings to the council as officers were repeatedly called to deal with incidents of violence and drug abuse at Demi's home.

Social services received a further five alerts from neighbours who reported Demi's mother Ann Marie McDonald was too drunk or high on drugs to properly care for her child.

And Demi's own grand-mother twice contacted Salford council to say that she was worried about the toddler's welfare.

Despite the dozen danger signals, Demi was not put into care and was never even made the subject of a child protection plan.

A review of the case has confirmed failings, but concluded that Demi's death 'could not have been anticipated and therefore could not have been avoided'.

Action

No member of staff will be disciplined and no-one will lose their job over the case.

Social service chiefs accepted mistakes had been made, but said that even if proper action had been taken over the 12 warnings, Demi would not have been removed from the care of her mother and her life would therefore not have been saved.

Demi was left alone with 15-year-old McCluney for 90 minutes in July last year at a flat in Liverpool Road, Eccles, while her mum went out to collect child benefit.

McCluney, who suffered from a mental disorder, apparently lost his temper with Demi because her crying was distracting him while he watched television.

He punched, kicked, and bit Demi in a sadistic attack which left her with injuries in 68 different parts of her body.

Yesterday he was convicted of her murder and will be sentenced next month.

A judge has yet to decide exactly what the minimum sentence will be but said the 'starting point' will be 12 years.

| Submit Comments | Comments (33) | « Previous Story | Next Story »

Most recent user comments 25 of 33

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y do social work leave a child with addicted parents if they get involved they shld give parents the choice 2 get proper help & if they dont do what is required sttaight away then they shld take the child insted of leaving them 2 endure a life of misery ,pain,lonliness then maybe death wldnt b the end for our failed children r.i.p little angel xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

kirsty anderson
13/07/2009 at 03:05

Why try to defend the undefendable? Demi Leigh Mahon is dead...let down by her own mother, her immediate family, and childrens services.. they will live their lives out with it on their conscience. For a long time now Salford childrens services has underperformed. Name one thing which Jll Baker has implemented that has improved the service? Underperforming childrens homes, no decent affordable facilities for children and a lack of adequete youth provision in the poorest wards. Even decent children are not even allowed to walk around the streets, park or Salford Quays with their friends on a summer evening without the police moving them on or issuing them with a warning. Oh no, SCC would rather spend our money on a new set of executive suites at the Civic Centre, who and what for? As head of CS, Jill Baker IS ultimately responsible for all these failures.

Publish the report, but it wont bring Demi back!

jaxx , salford
3/07/2009 at 11:05

I concur wholeheartedly with the views of Mr Sullivan (17:58) about the need for Jill Baker and Councillor Warmisham to relinquish their posts forthwith.

If I remember correctly, last year the government threatened to take over the directorate because of similar failings but was persuaded by the council to allow them to ‘sort it out’ themselves. Earlier this year the government inspectors upgraded the status of the department to ‘ok’ based on the work done within the directorate. It would appear that this was an inappropriate and unwarranted status bearing in mind that the problems of little Demi would have been happening during this same time period. Perhaps this is one reason why the reports to the Directorate from outside agencies such as the police were ignored?!

I reiterate – the Lead Member and the Director for Children’s Services should go. They should also take with them the Chief Executive Barbara Spicer and Leader of the Council John Merry CBE, ultimately they are all at fault.

salford expat, not salford any longer
29/06/2009 at 19:42

The one thing that should be learned from the Baby P case is that the director of childrens services should either resign or be dismissed and the same applies to the councillor responsible for childrens services. I wonder how they manage to sleep at night. I notice that the council was deemed inadequate by the government watch dog. Its comforting to see that it is managing to retain its position

Robert Sullivan
29/06/2009 at 17:58

All i can say is some big changes need to be done in this country, it's a joke, too many selfish and money mad people who do not give a **** about anyone else, and yes most social service workers only care about is what they get paid and my opinion is to much. R.I.P. Demi.

*no* issue, radcliffe
28/06/2009 at 21:16

Parents! Who needs them!

The red divil, Angola
28/06/2009 at 20:29

There was a time where a child was looked after by its parents. Now we have created a nation of pondlife who have children to secure benefits and allow the taxpayer to foot the bill, the rest of Europe are laughing at the UK , no wonder they are dumping the asylum seekers here as they believe the UK is going downhill. Again its down to drugs, just rememebr the next time you chill out with a bit of weed ort ake just one line of coke you are supporting an indusry which is running down the country.

J smith
28/06/2009 at 17:36

Does anybody have any confidence in the left wing numptys that seem to make up "Social sevices?". Another example of screw up after screw up. It will never end, waste of taxpayers money and yet again the statement, "we will learn from these lessons"

Dukinfield Blue, Manchester
28/06/2009 at 13:10

Where was the father in all this?

R.I.P Demi

No this is not the Governments Fault, and for the misinformed Eccles is not Hazel Blears patch but so what don't let the facts get in the way.

Knowall, stretford end
28/06/2009 at 13:06

Just a thought! Was it social services that originally banned the cane and any other form of corporal discipline in schools or home, I always thought it was but I might have been wrong.

Was it them who also said that it was wrong to tell a naughty child that they were being naughty but to use terms like being "none constructive"

If it was, then the monster they've created is well a truely amongst us now and in some cases, the second generation of the monster.

Mad Welsh Scotsman, Cadishead
28/06/2009 at 10:15

Social services are paid vast amounts of money by taxpayers to protect children, after 12 warnings and still the child was let down, there needs to be some accountability just like the public outcry with Baby P, the head of social services and a few others there were quite rightly sacked.

Mad Welsh Scotsman, Cadishead
28/06/2009 at 10:03

And,can I add.She was still a poor parent,in fact worse as she left nurturing,boring buisness to the childminder

Angie33 , Manchester
28/06/2009 at 08:34

Family members calling social services with concerns about a child should bring on full investigation without any other reasons.It cant be easy for them to risk their offspring being prosecuted or the child being taken into care.It sounds like they work on the principle that if a family member reports neglect or abuse theres no need to bother as someone cares and will rescue the child.What does warrent immidiate intervention?The one time I did see a social worker in action was where a middleclass single mother was struggling finacially and they fixed her up with free child care.End of problem.I suspect they keep themselves busy with cases like this.

Angie33 , Manchester
28/06/2009 at 08:31

Your child protective services are horrible. He should die in prison, and when other prisoners find out what he did, there will be hell to pay. He will never make it! Thank god!!

judypatudy01, usa
27/06/2009 at 23:06

There are many children living in drug dens and worse. If every child at this level was removed into the care of Social Services. There would not be enough places for them, enough staff to cope with them, enough tax payers’ money to pay for them.

Why? Because this is part of everyday British Society, part of Brown’s Broken Britain.

RT, UK
27/06/2009 at 22:48

Well, it DOES sound as though her mother was not fit to care for her... and perhaps the social services agencies should have done more...

But it was NOT her mother who killed her, and unless she could somehow have anticipated the savage, inhuman attack that befell her poor little daughter, she's not really to blame, and neither are the social services. This article misses the point - too eager to find SOME way to blame 'the government' for the failings of individual human beings. (Wouldn't it be nice if this were NOT the fault of the young monster who did this horrible thing, but merely a governmental failing? What rubbish...)

Jon Musselman
27/06/2009 at 21:14

What's the problem? Lessons will be learned until the next time an inadequate woman/girl has a child that the taxpayer has to fund. It seems to me that the one thing you really need a test for as in having kids you don't get. I brought my kids up not the state the taxpayer but me. The first one is usually a mistake the rest are carrer moves. The whenthese kids are of breeding age they start the bredding process all over again thaitanium,

Parents not the state are to looked at here. Tragic.

Andanotherthing, Mcr
27/06/2009 at 19:21

This lad should never know freedom again. But in this country he will. It will be said he was only young. The mother should never be allowed to have children again. But we will be told to feel for her. The social services should be scrapped. I read the comments sticking up for them. I agree they could not have seen this happening. But is it not within their powers. To remove a child from what has been described as a drugs den. We hear it all the time lessons have be learnt. Any parent/person who has charge of a minor whilst on drugs. Should be locked up & we should not feel for them.

Gerry Gow's jockstrap
27/06/2009 at 19:02

this is sickening and it will happen again and again and again. there's no stopping it now. social services no longer have the capacity to deal with child protection. children are not being protected. watch your children very, very closely because the safeguards put in place by the government to protect them no longer work. you will have to protect your children on your own from now on. social workers have left the service like rats leaving a sinking ship, and who can blame them? they're hated by everyone, left, right and centre. soon there will be no social workers left but this will be a good thing, because they never did anything worthwhile in the first place, right? well done to us, we've created this for ourselves, we've driven the social workers away, and now the monsters will rule. well done to us.

Marc ,
27/06/2009 at 18:11

lessons will be learned seems to be a very familiar saying nowadays these social workers and their bosses are on tremendous wages but yet again they cannot do their jobs properley and yet again a poor child has suffered and died because of them.heads should roll over this and thre should be sackings but lets see what happens.

sugar n spice, manchester
27/06/2009 at 17:48

this will happen again and again as long as social services have the unwritten policy that as long as the parents/careres don't do drugs in front of the child its ok.....

debra edwards,
27/06/2009 at 17:11

thaitanium,
27/06/2009 at 17:08

Right, so there'll be some lessons to be learned then! Again!

Mike, Manchester,
27/06/2009 at 17:07

What a tragedy for this little girl. Lets hope she rests in peace.

jaico,
27/06/2009 at 16:25

I see that the old chestnut "it didn't happen in my day" excuse is being wheeled out. Let's blaim Social Services/Local Government/National Government as though these things never used to happen. What a load of old tosh. If it was not for developments which have taken place in the last 40 odd years things would have been far worse. I remember when I was at Junior School in the 50's a lad coming in with a lovely triangular shaped burn on his face. His Mum had clobbered him with a hot iron. Kids not being fed properly. Kids in rags. Of course kids did not get killed then did they. I wonder what Bradey and Hindley were doing then? Off course you could leave your front door open and be safe. Like hell they'd have the shillings out of your gas meter before you turned the corner. And of course the night repairing of church roofs is something new isn't it! We had Capital Punishment, Corporal Punishment in schools and lousy prisons. Did it put people off a life of crime? I agree there was a sense of community, but don't you get that now. It's called a gang. But we didn't have gangs then did we. I wonder what happened to Teddy Boys and razor gangs? And before we get any smart comments I was brought up in the 50's in West Gorton and lived there until 1975.